"In this digital age of music streaming and social media, it is easier than ever to objectively measure an artist’s reach and influence. Whether you like it or not, every social media site and music streaming platform is collecting loads of data about their users. This information can be used to your advantage to draw powerful insights about your audience."

"The difference between a really good show and a terrible show is not how good the music was, but how good the connection was between you and your audience...The best way to break the ice and make a connection with your audience is by employing some skillful stage banter..."

"Musicians often focus on making it onto curated playlists, whether that’s Spotify’s own weekly compilations like New Music Mondays or alternative playlists built by independent users. However, if your aim is to gain more streams, getting on algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar can be much more effective...Before we delve into Release Radar and Discover Weekly individually, here are a couple of pieces of advice that apply to getting on both of these algorithm-based playlists..."
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"Most people have noticed that video is often the most effective way to both spread your message AND create engagement with an audience. People watch more and more video all the time...So, with that in mind, we all need to be considering video content. The big question becomes what kind of video to make? What will actually help you stand out from the millions of other videos being created every week? We can help with that. I divide most business video content into four levels..."

**Guest post written by Ged Richardson of Zing Instruments as featured in the Ultimate Guide To Social Media Marketing For Musicians.

"The commonest mistake that musicians make is not to consider who they are trying to reach with each platform. That’s right. You need to think who are you trying to reach. And the complexity doesn't stop there. People you’re trying to reach don’t all use the same social media channels either..."

**Guest post written by Rachel M., originally featured on Push Power Promo's Blog.

"Everyone has a Soundcloud profile, but not everyone is using theirs to its fullest potential to make their music brand look good! Having a solid music profile page includes providing your page visitors with the right information, a great online personality and a music catalog they will be excited about! Here are the top mistakes to avoid with your Soundcloud profile."

**Guest post written by Carlos Castillo of Schwilly Family Musicians - music marketing strategist, web designer, live performance recordist, international road-tripper, lap steel player, and Captain of the Schwilly Family.

"A lot of music biz teachers will tell you that you should commit time to releasing cover songs on YouTube because you’ll get all kinds of organic growth and attention. This is a proven strategy that has been working for several years. But, especially now that so many musicians are applying it, I’m not sure it’s all that it’s cracked up to be anymore. And it’s not as simple as picking songs you like and recording your own versions..."

**Guest post written by Josh Klemons, digital storyteller and strategist of Reverbal Communications.

"If you spend time on social media, you’re probably familiar with Facebook Live, a relatively new Facebook tool that allows you to broadcast live—in real time—directly to your audience...Facebook, at least for the time being, is extremely committed to this tool and is offering all implementers a powerful free gift for using it: guaranteed exposure and engagement! Here are 5 ways to use Facebook Live to greatly expand your band’s reach..."

**Guest post written by Ari Herstand, the author of How To Make It in the New Music Business. It originally appeared on Ari's Take.

"I get it. It’s so annoying every time a new social site pops up or updates their platform and then you have to completely relearn it (or start to lean in). The DIY world was a hell of a lot simpler when there was just one social network that mattered: Myspace. But those years are behind us. Let me help you make some sense of this all before we dig into it..."

**Guest post written by Jonny Carroll, a touring singer-songwriter from Grand Rapids, MI, as featured in his blog.

"In my short time burning the pavement that is independent vocational musicianship I’ve come to observe the artists who, regardless of genre, possess some traits for being wildly successful at making it into a flourishing career. The common denominator between them is simple..."

**Guest post written by Corey Koehler, an indie singer-songwriter from Minnesota, as featured in his blog MusicGoat.com.

"Here’s the good news: These days if you want to sell music online it is pretty damn easy. You find a nice music distribution service, upload your songs and BAM… you are worldwide. Your music is blasted out all over the world in less than an hour. Here's the bummer..."

**Guest post written by Corey Koehler, an indie singer-songwriter from Minnesota, as featured in his blog MusicGoat.com.

"It is not a bad place to network with other musicians. They have a few decent tools. And its nice to have some links back to my website and other social media properties. If you are just starting out and testing the waters, you could do a lot worse. But if you want to get serious about marketing online, building your fan base, and growing your music career, you should be thinking beyond ReverbNation. Especially when it comes to your email marketing."

**Guest Post by Paul Loeb, founder and CEO of No Ego Records and DropTrack. Originally featured on The DIY Musician.

"It’s hard to believe it’s been over 12 years since the launch of Facebook. Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. That’s good news for marketers, musicians, and entrepreneurs. You have this incredible platform to reach every one of those followers you painstakingly cultivated. Or do you?"

**Guest post written by Corey Koehler, an indie singer-songwriter from Minnesota, as featured in his blog MusicGoat.com.

"For the past 30-40 years musicians have been releasing albums. Many times the time between those albums was a year or more. Many bands and musicians these days still model their own release schedules after this same one. This is a mistake. These days you should be learning how to release a single and doing it often. Here's why..."

When you think visionary brands, who comes to mind? Probably Apple, Red Bull, or Nike… right? Well, how about we add one more to the mix: The Grateful Dead...Long before social media or digital marketing ever came into play, they employed viral marketing, social networking, and word-of-mouth marketing...50 years later, the game has changed – but the principles are the same. And word-of-mouth remains one of the most powerful marketing strategies out there.

**Guest post written by Chris Robley, originally featured in the DIY Musician Blog.

"If you’ve been on the planet for more than a quarter century, you could be forgiven for not really knowing much about Snapchat...with 77% of college students using the app daily, and over 400 millions “snaps” a day (and a valuation of $16 billion) Snapchat can’t really be ignored anymore. So let’s ask the question: do you need to be on Snapchat as a musician?"

**Guest post written by Joy Ike, creator of Grassrootsy.com and Independent Musician, as featured on Grassrootsy.com.

"For a while there, house concerts were a trendy idea for independent artists that caught on pretty quickly...But now house concerts are actually becoming the primary means for many artists to make their living...Here are 5 ways that I’ve used to generate solid house concert leads."

**Guest post written by Matt Bacon, Senior Campaign Manager at Independent Music Promotions.

You look out on the crowd after a high powered set opening up for one of your favorite bands – and then instead of playing another song off your latest release you instead pull off a killer cover of Just Like Heaven...People love artists who pay tribute to their influences.

**Guest post written by Cristof Ensslin, cellist/manager of The Wilhelm Brothers, folk rock with cello infusion from Asheville, NC.

"Are you booking for an indie band? Have you ever come across a venue mentioning you ought not to play another show within a certain radius and timespan? Chances are, you have." But what if you could play multiple shows in the same town in the same week and the venue could also benefit...

"In the third of a three-part video series, Rocket to the Stars' Wade Sutton continues examining how artists can improve their speaking skills when on stage performing at live shows!" Sentence structure is key...

"Finding a comfort zone while speaking to audiences between songs is something that has been problematic for MANY singers...So I spent a large portion of time over the past year ­and ­a ­half exploring this very issue and looking for ways artists can improve at this extremely important, yet often neglected, skill..."

"The evolution from simply surfing the internet on a computer to consuming content on mobile phones has put a growing emphasis on social media. And, the pressure to be “good” at social media has never been stronger...Your audience may be inundated with the same messages from different people and the quest to stand out oftentimes seems like an uphill battle. Instead of focusing on the quantity, cultivate quality..."

"FB events [are great. They] get you all the details and can be a perfect way to get show info; HOWEVER, there is one kind of invite that becomes REALLY tiresome: Invites to shows that are nowhere near me..."